


the inventor next door

by Anonymous



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Babysitter AU, Crack, Crushing, Family, Fluff, Inventors, M/M, Pining, Robots, baby au, inventions, read for cute baby!, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23097439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: bored millennial kyungsoo becomes the babysitter to the son of one of the country's most beloved tech inventors.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 31
Kudos: 77
Collections: Anonymous





	1. cat flap

It started on a Friday afternoon. Kyungsoo was done with his video editing for the day. He was packing up his cooking ingredients when he heard the cat flap on the front door rattle. It was prohibited for his usage: one, because he owned no cats and two, his puppy, Meokmul, was much too classy for it. So he ignored the sound, blamed it on _something or the other_ and went along with his packing until he heard the familiar shuffles on the wooden apartment floor and figured that Meokmul was ready for her snack. She was a very well-behaved puppy and lived her life in an effective rhythm not dissimilar to her owner. 

Taking a small packet of dog biscuits from his top cupboard, Kyungsoo crumpled it a little between his palms before looking down at the cloud of black fluff by his feet. He was talking out loud before he had even realised it. Single, introverted habits for you.

"Here you go. One for Meokmul. Two for Meokmul. And one for -- _woah!_!”

There was a _baby_ next to his dog. A human baby. A human baby that was beaming at him from below on all-fours. It was dressed in a sky blue onesie with a round face and huge bright eyes like shiny beach pebbles. Meokmul appeared completely unbothered by its presence. She continued to wag her tail, awaiting her snack. Dazed, Kyungsoo offered the snack before reaching for the baby and taking it off the ground.

"Holy." He peered at it. The baby garbled back, pink cheeks wobbling with fat and glossed with drool. 

Kyungsoo would’ve probably continued observing the baby if he didn’t suddenly hear a notable bang from outside his apartment door and a _shout_ so loud that it could’ve only come from someone who had lost their baby.

Quick to respond, he took himself and the stranger-baby towards his door and opened it.

Outside stood a man. A frantically-spinning man that was holding a towel to his wet hair and wearing clothes that Kyungsoo was sure, at first glance, were the wrong way around. After one quick twirl, the man's eyes landed on the baby and the obvious tension around him vanished.

Only then did it occur to Kyungsoo that the baby in his arms was already reaching for him.

"Lilo? There you are! Where did you go!” 

The man scooped the baby into his arms. Kyungsoo’s eyes remained wide. The pace in which it all happened didn’t quite slow to the point that he could consciously predict where it could go next - but there was a friendliness about the stranger that poured out the second he extended a hand to Kyungsoo and introduced himself. Unbothered, it would seem, by the point that he had come outside quite unexpectedly with a baby that he had lost.

"You must be the new neighbour! Hello! I'm Park Chanyeol. Welcome to the complex.” 

Neighbour. Kyungsoo had moved in almost a week ago. He had settled into the environment of the neighbourhood so easily that the length of time hadn’t felt very noticeable. This was his first encounter with his adjoining neighbours- and he hadn’t quite expected that this would be how it would play out. 

Kyungsoo shook his hand anyway. The stranger was taller than him - bright-eyed, like the baby, smiley, like the baby, and whilst not covered in drool, he was also glossy from the shower or bath he’d just come running out from. 

“Did Lilo trespass on your property?” Chanyeol continued. “Sorry about that. The apartment has been empty for a few weeks so he’s gotten into the habit of crawling through the flap. _Oh well_. Looks like we can't ride your bike in there anymore, Lilo. There is always the indoor arena idea. Shall we go inside and give that a go? Oh! Did you say your name?”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Kyungsoo! Well, again. Welcome Kyungsoo. Sorry but we have to go. We’ve got a full afternoon booked up and Lilo here is in the driver seat. Literally. Say, goodbye Lilo!”

The baby - Lilo - continued to beam at Kyungsoo and said some syllables that echoed something like _bye bye_.

And then, just like that, they were gone. 

Kyungsoo returned to his apartment and shut the door. Meokmul, always the pacifist, had busied herself with the biscuits and had unhelpfully missed the whole thing. Scratching his head, Kyungsoo sat down on his couch and visibly processed the preceding moments.

When Kyungsoo had been shown the prime-location city apartment, he had a vague recollection of asking why it had been vacated and why it had remained in the market so long. The agent had pleaded innocence but did mention that the complex owner was _meticulous_ about who was allowed to live in their complex. 

Now babies and fathers, Kyungsoo was certain that he would never have a problem with. However, ever since that afternoon, he became increasingly aware of a mixtape of strange mechanical noises coming from the adjacent apartment. Pushed to describe it, Kyungsoo would say that the noises varied from drill-like buzzing, zipping, to just low machinery howling. Eventually he began to wonder whether that was something he needed to question the complex owner about.

After some digging through his paperwork, he found out the name of the person he had to direct all his worries to. The complex owner.

_PARK, CHANYEOL - APARTMENT 61A._

“Great,” Kyungsoo huffed as he looked towards the door, narrowed his eyes, and allowed the strange and displaced _woOOOOooOoOoOaH_ sound coming from next door to magnify in his ears until he found himself right outside of his neighbour’s door, knocking, like he had something to say.

Meokmul, of course, chose to stay behind - never one for the cross-fire.

The door opened.

“Kyungsoo! Hello!” 

Chanyeol’s voice was like _sunshine_.

Kyungsoo wasn’t totally sure why that specific and totally chaotic thought entered his mind but he reasoned that the broadness of the other man’s smile and the obvious delight in his deep voice may have been the triggers.

Today, he found the complex-owner in a dry state. He was wearing a black sweater and grey joggers - not distinct from Kyungsoo’s choice of home-clothes - and a wild and fluffy hairstyle that he shared with the baby who appeared shortly at the door in a little grey tee, on his two-feet this time, and _shrieking_.

“Lilo!” Chanyeol looked down and shot the baby a look. “Dad is talking to our neighbour, Mr. Do Kyungsoo. He has something to say and we have to listen to him.”

Chaos. It was all chaos. The baby began to shriek and laugh and ran away, prompting Chanyeol to pull the front door wide open as he shuffled after him, thus revealing the state of Apartment 61A to Kyungsoo who was quickly beginning to realise that he should start expecting the fantastical unexpected whenever he came to see his neighbours.

Because in front of the television that was far too large and epic for the room, was a shiny little car. Baby-sized. Although his knowledge about tools and cars were the minimal known to a driver, Kyungsoo had a strong sense that this little car was in the process of creation - not repair. And there were real tools on the floor. Next to some plastic ones. Gor babies presumably.

“Is that what’s making the noise?” Kyungsoo asked, having realised that he hadn’t opened the conversation appropriately.

“Hm?” Chanyeol returned to the door with the baby in his arms. The little boy was just in a shirt and diapers; the former of which he was enthusiastically teething as he struggled to get out of his father’s grip. “Oh - you mean the car?” Chanyeol looked at the vehicle and then at Kyungsoo, “What kinda noise was it?”

“Um.” Kyungsoo cleared his throat. “The _woooOooh_ kind.”

The query was considered with intense eyes and then Chanyeol’s face softened. “Yes, I think so!” he exclaimed, “That may be the car… or… it may be Toben. He doesn’t sing very well you see. So when he tries, it can be noisy.”

“Toben?” Kyungsoo questioned, now believing that there may be another baby somewhere - “Who--”

_Master_. 

A voice, drained of any human familiarity - more akin to a cold computer drone - greeted them from below, 

_I have found the missing cog. It’s in Master Lilo’s puzzle box._

“Puzzle box!” Sunshine. Really. Chanyeol's voice was pure rays and sunbeams - “Lilo!” The baby was placed abruptly in Kyungsoo’s arms as Chanyeol turned to run to an adjacent room, “Excuse me Kyungsoo!”

Chanyeol’s disappearance was shocking. The weight of the baby in his arms was shocking. But nothing was as shocking as the _thing_ talking at his feet. It was round like a disc and shiny - like a roomba. Yes! A roomba! Except - 

_You are Do Kyungsoo._

_I am Toben._

_Hello._

It was speaking. Kyungsoo didn’t reply, preoccupied somewhat by Lilo the Baby who continued to wriggle in his arms, and heard the faint huff of - 

_Not returning a greeting is rude. Hmph._

Before the roomba - Toben - swivelled around and zoomed towards the unfinished car.

“Ow!”

Lilo was tugging on his hair. Kyungsoo realised that the little boy was _frowning_ \- and drooling. When his little lips parted and an instinct came over Kyungsoo telling him that he was going to scream, he promptly placed the little boy on the soft carpet.

_Master Lilo. Let’s play a game._

Toben the roomba had returned. Lilo was back on his feet and waddled towards the spinning robot with outstretched arms. Now with his limbs all intact, Kyungsoo took this opportunity to look around - _properly_ \- and realised that the living room was absolutely, unnaturally, abnormally, huge. Misshapen even. It looked nothing like the dimensions of his own apartment and he figured for a second that he may have walked into something off-world. 

Crazy.

Chanyeol returned to the room. “The cog is found!” he announced, “Toben! Start again on page 19!” 

The roomba’s disembodied voice began to read out instructions. Kyungsoo’s legs were feeling shaky when he realised that there was no way in spatial hell that this apartment could exist in the way it did. Not unless this whole half of the floor was theirs which sounded absolutely insane because of _city planning rules_ \--

“Kyungsoo! Are you OK?” Chanyeol asked.

“I’m going… to need to know what’s going on here,” was Kyungsoo’s uncertain answer as he looked across the room to watch the roomba, the baby, and the man over the shiny black baby-sized car. They were all elements of a mathematical equation in which the outstanding answer appeared to be… _pizza_.

Chanyeol stared at him. His face appeared curious but pleased. 

“Sure thing.” He motioned to the spot on the couch behind him for Kyungsoo to sit, “What would you like to know?”

The mysterious man with the sunshine voice, for all his strangeness and shine, turned out to be very open to being quizzed about his family, apartment and lifestyle. Through a series of questions, Kyungsoo found out that Chanyeol was a very senior product developer at EXOTech, one of the country’s most largest electronics company (maker of his beloved slow cooker) and when he wasn’t developing technological solutions for the many, he dabbled in - well _everything_. All branches of science. Mathematics. Astronomy. _Astrology_. Linguistics. Video Games. DJing. If it was a topic he could watch an online video about, there was a chance that Chanyeol had tried his hand at it.

He was also a father. To Lilo. An 18-month old baby boy. 

Up close and personal, the resemblance between them was uncanny. Down to the depth of their dimples. Kyungsoo made a joke about whether the genius had somehow devised a way to create a baby with 100% of his DNA - a joke which Chanyeol made an unsettlingly serious reply to - “ _Oh boy, have I got the story for that!_ -” but it was confirmed shortly after that although Lilo was only 50% his biologically, he also took 100% of the caring responsibilities as a single parent. 

There were some gaps in the stories - largely due to the fact that Chanyeol had the tendency to string multiple stories all at once which meant some of the finer details slipped through the cracks. For example, although he outed himself as a mere _developer_ , it wasn’t clear how he had accumulated enough ground wealth to buy out a property the size of this complex. This was a tidbit that Kyungsoo discovered after asking Chanyeol about why he had chosen to paint his walls a peach colour.

But at least Kyungsoo discovered what the car was all about.

“I’m building a car for Lilo,” Chanyeol said. “Isn’t that obvious?”

_Sorta._ Kyungsoo was beginning to realise that discovering things about his neighbour, if he was to make a habit of it, would have to be done in doses. Because too much of it - would definitely be too much too fast. And truly the last thing he wanted was for a misunderstanding to be created just because his brain wasn’t operating at whatever wavelength his neighbours were.

Still, he should work on the quality of his questioning.

“So, is Toben an... upgraded roomba?” 

The question made Chanyeol laugh for a good minute. He had a nice deep laugh - the sort that laughed with you, not at. Kyungsoo felt far more relaxed at this point and had even started to play with Lilo as the toddler ran up and down the room, stalked by the ever-mumbling roomba who alternated between calling to the baby and playing obnoxiously catchy baby songs.

“Toben is a robot, actually. A personal success of mine. Unrelated to EXOtech. His hardware. His software. The AI. All mine. I engineered him specifically for the purpose of being a companion to me and my baby.” Chanyeol explained. “So, wherever Lilo is, Toben will be. Unfortunately, he can’t climb into a cat flap so you weren’t introduced last time.”

Insane as that sounded, it all made sense in the context of the Park family home. Kyungsoo nodded his head and stored that in the file: not a roomba, but a babysitter robot. He hoped that he wouldn't wake up in cold sweats about that in the night, wondering if it was all real or not. 

“So, tell me about yourself Kyungsoo.”

The question surprised Kyungsoo. It was a little intimidating changing the subject from the seemingly amazing life that Chanyeol led to his own, insignificant, boring existence. But he was polite so he truly prepared to answer him when a separate voice made a sudden intervention- 

_DO KYUNGSOO is an unemployed 26 year old male. 1.72 metres. Average weight, predicted to be_ \-- 

“Toben! Toben!” Chanyeol interrupted quickly, “Let him speak! It’s rude to tell people about themselves.” 

A pause. And then - _Noted._

Chanyeol made a hand gesture to encourage Kyungsoo to step in. And he did, after deciding that he would purposely overlook the scary idea that this roomba-robot knew a lot more about his personal life than he should.

"Uh, well all of those are right. Except I am not unemployed. I am an online vlogger."

"Oh!" Chanyeol said excitedly. "Tell us more!"

The sunny smile that faced Kyungsoo was challenging to battle with so he went on about it despite the fact that talking about his daily doings was way outside of his comfort zone.

"I'm a cook. A trained cook. When I was at school, I used to film these videos and put them online as a hobby but they got very popular so I decided that I would take a break from cooking in a kitchen and try creating online content. It's uh… good so far. It doesn't pay all the bills but… it does pay for some."

“Good for you!” 

Although it was a career trajectory that seemed pathetic when compared to one of an inventor, Chanyeol appeared bowled over by this piece of knowledge. Much to Kyungsoo’s relief, he took over the conversation and spoke about how much video content he watched with Lilo and made an audio note (taken by Toben) to watch Kyungsoo's videos as soon as he can. It was a little weird at first, accepting that people he knew would watch the things that he made - but he had been doing it long enough to know that it was best to accept any support that he could get. Even neighbourly.

"Dada!!"

Kyungsoo’s attention was captured by little Lilo as he returned to his father's shoulder holding what appeared to be a wrench. A plastic one. They conversed for a few moments - Lilo in loud baby-talk and Chanyeol in slowed down grown-up talk. The dynamic worked fine and it was there that Kyungsoo thought that he had finally reached the point where enough of his curiosities were satisfied and he could really leave. His own version of a Eureka moment. 

"Dada!! Oomph!!!"

As if sensing his intentions, Lilo came towards him and stopped intentionally at his lap. The little baby peered up at his face with his adorable big eyes, said nonsense, and then motioned Kyungsoo's attention to the pile of plastic toys piled up on the couch. It was a mess - this whole room was a mess - but Kyungsoo for all that is good in the world thought about something else that wasn't neatness and cleanliness for once. 

The plastic toys were _animal toys_. And that was, by complete coincidence, an absolute weakness of his.

"That's a lot of animals. Woah. I've never seen a plastic narwhal before." He inspected the item closely, feeling that magic overtake him. That irrational, untouchable magic that only rose when lost dreams and inclinations of childhood past were stirred. 

Lilo was watching him intensely. But not as intensely as the way that Kyungsoo was looking at the plastic animals and remembering his own collection when he was a little boy - of the protectiveness he showed towards his little toy zoo. His collection was nowhere near as extensive but he remembered _love_ ; the purity of childhood love towards his favourite things. Almost in a trance, Kyungsoo began to separate the animal according to species and then the dogs according to dog breeds. The little boy watched as he did so, behaved, engrossed and not-shrieking - which Kyungsoo figured was a welcomed change of volume for the house. Of course he opted to explain his actions to Lilo - not only to fill the silence but to respect the fact that he was the toy-owner and not Kyungsoo.

Being the youngest in his own family, Kyungsoo wasn't all that used to being around children - but he really did love puppies and small animals and figured that aside from the obvious communication barriers, it couldn't be all that different. Babies probably ate more - but Meokmul’s snack budget was so weighty that it was probably comparable.

Lilo smiled through the whole thing: drooling of course, and talking nonsense.

"I think Lilo likes you," Chanyeol commented after looking up from the car to check on them. "Well he tends to like everyone but you like him too! I think!"

"I do." Kyungsoo affirmed, with a toy giraffe and penguin in one hand. "I like playing… I mean, I like playing with Lilo. He's uh, behaved."

"Is he?" Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at the baby before laughing softly. "Sure he is. I raised him after all. Like Dad, Like Baby!"

What followed was a weird _ha ha ha_ sound which could have only come from Toben the Robot.

Whether that claim was true didn't really matter. In their presence, Kyungsoo felt very warm and pleasant - two things he couldn't have ever imagined saying after discovering both the blustery weather of his new city and the fact that his apartment thermostat was near busted and old. 

Comfortable, he stayed in the apartment for a bit longer before remembering that he had his own baby to take care of. Knowing that Meokmul was the type to harbour bad feelings if he was ever late with mealtimes, Kyungsoo explained this matter to Chanyeol who looked over the little zoo that him and Lilo had made and said very quickly - 

"Kyungsoo, I have a question to ask you."

There was a seriousness to his tone that turned Kyungsoo's head immediately. Still, Chanyeol smiled that same sunny smile.

So Kyungsoo smiled back.

"What is it?" 

"Would you be interested in babysitting Lilo for the night?"

The question sounded practiced in its delivery even though it made just about as much sense as a talking roomba. Again, Kyungsoo was taken aback and again, Chanyeol appeared forced to explain his path of thought. He did so with a little shy glance at his son who had succumbed to lying on the carpeted floor, sucking on the head of a plastic capybara. 

"As you can imagine, I am very picky with babysitters. Lilo is even… worse. I haven't had one in a month because he has refused everyone from the agency that I've tried. But he really likes you… and… I’m too scientific to believe in _fate_ but you, turning up at my door, on the night that I needed _somebody_. I can barely believe how it’s turned out!” He smiled wide. Sunshine fizzled into fireworks. “I’m sure it has occurred to you by now but I’ll never skip the opportunity to ask the question, no matter how you reply. So it’s absolutely no pressure but I wanted to ask you.” 

Babysitting. Kyungsoo wasn’t a babysitter - and perhaps most importantly, he wasn’t the sort to try something new if it wasn’t directly or indirectly related to cooking. He panicked instantly. He didn’t know anything about babies! Or even this baby! He didn’t know anything about this family! Why did he even come here? Why didn’t he just stay with his dog? Babies and dogs were completely different and he could barely watch Meokmul -- 

“I’ll pay you.” Chanyeol’s voice cut through the noise as the man called out - “Toben, what is the average hourly rate for a babysitter in the city?”

Toben said a number that was too pathetic to note. 

“Consider it quadrupled.” Chanyeol said firmly. “It’s two hours and then it’s bedtime. I’ll go to my event and then I’ll be straight back. I just need someone here tonight that I can trust.”

“ _Trust_?” Kyungsoo said, slightly horrified by the word. “But you don’t know who I am!”

“That’s true.” Chanyeol’s response showed no resignation as he shrugged his shoulders. “But I have a very good feeling about you and I tend to trust my feelings. _Also_ , I do very thorough checks on my tenants and you’re squeaky clean so I have no reason to doubt you.” 

It was so bizarre. What kind of man just -- what kind of man was this man?

And what kind of man was Kyungsoo to think that he could take care of a baby just because he would privately enjoy having his lights and water paid off for this month? It was only for a handful of hours. He had handled a post at a Michelin star kitchen. Surely, this was going to be _easy_.

Quadruple. Kyungsoo pondered over that word. He watched as Lilo sat up and crawled towards his Dad, babbling. Chanyeol picked him up and kissed him on the head sweetly. Lilo was barely the size of the watermelons he used to cook with. _Quadruple_. They could just sit and play zoo until he fell asleep or something. Easy. Chanyeol was right - they did like each other and that was surely all there was to babysitting a little melon-sized kid. 

His confidence in the matter rose from zero to 100 with a single breath.

“I… yeah. Since you need it, why not.” Kyungsoo said, still hesitant but warming to it. “I’ll watch him for you.” 

Conversely, Chanyeol’s excitement burst through him. He practically bounced Lilo in the air as he grinned and said, “Waheeeey! Did you hear that Lilo? Mr. Do Kyungsoo has agreed to watch you!”

_Hooray._

Kyungsoo looked down at Toben’s cold disc body and wished that his voice had a little more humanity in it so it didn’t sound so mocking. He then let his gaze rest on Chanyeol and found himself smiling genuinely at the way he swayed his son around in delight - so animated, so lovely, that he almost missed what he said afterward,

“... Make sure you don’t try and scare Mr. Do Kyungsoo like you did with the other Mr's and Missus’! No playing with the projection mapping in your room or jumping in Dad’s big mayo tub, OK? That’s right! Be a good boy so Mr. Do Kyungsoo will play with you for a long time and we will see him often.” 

It was sweet. Minus the mayo tub image.

“I’ll do my best,” Kyungsoo said.

“I’m sure you will.” Chanyeol returned, “And don’t worry about needing anything. Toben will be here and he’ll help you with everything you need.”

Always reliable, the roomba zoomed to Kyungsoo’s feet, startling him.

_I’ll be watching._ Toben stated. 

_I’ll be watching you, Do Kyungsoo._

_Very closely._

Threatening. There was no way that this wasn’t threatening. 

"Thanks. Toben." Kyungsoo said in a stiff voice as the roomba then spun away. 

When he looked at Chanyeol again, Kyungsoo noted the fond way that he stared at him and how it made his heart beat a little rhythm. Not for anything special. He probably looked at the roomba the exact same way. There was just something about him. Good feelings. He gave a person good feelings. Chanyeol was right in that sense that these feelings could be considered outside of the ordinary. Extraordinary, really.

"Well." Kyungsoo gestured to the door. "I'll be going then. See you all in the evening?"

"See you!" Chanyeol greeted cheerily as he picked up Lilo's little fist and waved. The little boy grinned wide as he held onto his father's shirt and giggled. "See you Mr. Do Kyungsoo! Say it, Lilo!"

" _shooshoohehehhoo!"_ Lilo echoed. 

And so, it all began - on another Friday, barely a week after that very first - the biggest and most extraordinary adventure of Kyungsoo’s life.


	2. seafood linguine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *
> 
> In which Kyungsoo starts his first shift as Lilo's babysitter and gets a better experience of the Park Family apartment. 
> 
> *

*

As promised, Kyungsoo turned up at the Park Family door equipped with his best smile and all the confidence he could muster as a brand-new entry to the babysitting game. He was welcomed by a Chanyeol in his weekday’s best - a slightly old looking navy suit that barely shaped his frame. In his arms was a baby Lilo - worryingly subdued and a little angry looking - and Toben. 

A roomba that talks.

The handover started immediately. Chanyeol was a highly organised individual, thus defying all that Kyungsoo had believed about the mad scientist types. He took Kyungsoo on a tour around their apartment. It was a simple skim but systematic and baby-focused. These are the paintings that Lilo likes. These are the paintings he doesn't. And these are the most precious of all: the paintings Lilo made and we are very proud of. Arguably, they may have stayed looking at the paintings for too long. 

To prepare, Kyungsoo had watched a few online videos about babysitting and felt confident about the questions he should be asking. Allergies. Mealtime. Favourite toys. Chanyeol had all the answers. Toben did too. He piped in when Chanyeol said that his son’s favourite toys were his giant bear plushies. _Lilo likes Lego._

“Oh yeah.” Chanyeol’s face looked a little pained. “He really does.”

The farewell that followed was all a little quick and it made Kyungsoo’s head spin. Before he’d known it, Lilo was on the floor being kissed by Chanyeol as he held his briefcase behind his back. 

“Be a good boy OK? I love you absolutely and infinitely." And then he smiled at Kyungsoo. "Alrighty, Mr. Kyungsoo, my little Lilo is very against goodbyes. Especially mine. So what we will do is play peek-a-boo. I will play three times and on the fourth, I suggest you pick him up and show him something cool. Ready? Lilo!”

The inventor turned towards the baby who watched him eagerly.

“Peek-a-boo!” Lilo sparked up and played along, placing his little hands over his eyes as his father called out to him - “Peek-a-boo!” 

_Two_

“Peek-a-boo!”

_Three_

“Peek--aaaaaaaaah----boo!”

The speed in which Chanyeol brushed past him and leapt through the door must have been Olympic-level. Blinking in confusion, Kyungsoo looked back at the door and then back at the baby. The baby that was now frowning.

“Dada?” Lilo said, hands falling to his sides as he looked at Kyungsoo. “Dada?” 

The weight of understanding dawned. The startled face began to twist. Park Lilo's little body began to balloon up with air as his fists began to curl. The faintest whimper appeared on his bottom lip. It was the starting horn for the dawning of _war_.

“Lilo-lilo!” Kyungsoo said, frantic, as he picked him up from the floor. “Let’s show you something cool!”

Too late. Lilo opened his mouth and wailed aloud. 

“DADAAAAAAAAAAA!”

And in the background, a sense of depth to the frightening shrill.

_Master Kyungsoo, do you want me to play Baby Shark._

“Yes-yes, Toben. Play it!”

The roomba stilled as the song echoed through the room. Repetitive and annoying.

It was there that it truly dawned on Kyungsoo that he was alone with a stranger’s baby and he rapidly began to feel out of his depth. Despite his best efforts at comforting, Lilo didn't stop crying. He continued to violently wail, almost in time with the music until he stilled suddenly in Kyungsoo's embrace.

“FOOFY!” 

Lilo stopped crying and instead began to shout syllables. _Foofy?_ A flustered Kyungsoo turned towards the door and saw his saviour - his darling Meokmul peeking through the open apartment door with her little pink tongue out.

“Foofy,” Lilo told Kyungsoo, still sniffling. He pointed at the dog. "Foofy there."

“Do you want to go see Foofy?” Kyungsoo asked him.

The baby’s face brightened up.

Despite the fact that he was sure that Meokmul had never met a baby before, she certainly acted very accommodating towards this one. Kyungsoo watched as the puppy allowed a very excited Lilo to pat her head and pull on her curls without a single peep. At one point, Lilo even drooled on her and she barely batted an eyelid. 

In between supervising the two, one on each of his side, Kyungsoo took the time to read the short little fact file that Chanyeol had created for him and Toben had advised him to study. It was hand-made and resembled a report that a kid might have made in elementary school - with coloured pens, scribbled writing and pictures stuck down with either staples or glue. Evidently all he had to hand in a house he shared with a toddler and a talking robot. The report covered all the things he’d known already like allergies and emergency numbers - but it also had facts like Lilo’s favourite snacks, his greatest peeves, and a short little paragraph on his bedtime routine.

Apparently he was partial to an excerpt from _The Carnival of the Animals_ and pieces from _Chopin_ before dozing.

Making a mental note to remember those, Kyungsoo looked at Lilo and found himself thinking how cute he was. He really was so cute. His eyes were big and round. His cheeks were tubby. His ears were pointy. His limbs were floppy. They really could get along providing he doesn’t cry again. The frequency of sound that Lilo's voice was able to reach when he wailed was unbelievable. Kyungsoo had never heard anything like it.

“So, Lilo. Shall we go back to your house? I think Toben misses you.” 

Toben had insisted on remaining in the apartment for security reasons. He was apparently programmed to stay in the apartment when everyone else was gone. Although Kyungsoo had speculated that he may have just been scared of Meokmul. 

“Bye Foofy.” Lilo said to Meokmul after Kyungsoo picked him up. 

“Bye Foofy,” Kyungsoo echoed as he looked down at Meokmul and thought that the puppy had sent him daggers in response.

_Masters you’re back! I’ve missed you!_

Imagine those words but in the deadest voice imaginable.

Kyungsoo placed Lilo back on the floor and watched as the baby crawled towards the round robot. The baby giggled as Toben zoomed and spun on the floor, performing tricks to entertain and thereby allowing Kyungsoo to appreciate the full space of this strange apartment. Even though he hadn’t been away that long and had technically achieved a full introduction to its rooms, it was amazing how much the space still mystified him. 

There was something intentional about its dimensions that made it seem utterly abnormal and off-angled. The colours were mismatched and the furniture didn’t comply to a singular theme. It wasn’t _ugly_ \- it was just different. 

_Master Lilo are you going to your room?_

The question was a prompt. Kyungsoo dropped all his thoughts behind and followed the pair as they disappeared down a hallway (Lilo clearly inherited his father’s running skills) towards what was Lilo’s bedroom. He had glimpsed it earlier. Briefly. Entering now and fully appreciating the scope of it, Kyungsoo came to the decision that it was the most unique bedroom he had ever been in. 

Everything was - fluffy. 

The toys were all stacked neat in a huge pile on the floor. All plushies. Lilo’s bed resembled a nest of fur with thick warm brown sheets. In the corner of the room was a small indoor yellow tent and suspended around it was a train track that spanned from the top of the tent to the carpeted floor. 

Kyungsoo took a single step inside and cried out in pain. 

_There are legos everywhere, by the way._ Toben told him.

Lilo returned to Kyungsoo, beaming. In his arms, he carried a huge plushie dog - almost as big as him - “Foofy!” he cried out, “Foofy goes --oof!”

Kyungsoo laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s Foofy.” He walked further into the room and towards the pile of stuffed animals - and dinosaurs - and ah, _planets_? “And who are these?” He picked up a mid-sized bunny, sky blue in colour - “Is this bunny?”

“Junnie.” Lilo corrected him. “Junnie.” 

The stay in Lilo’s room was long enough that the room began to transform around them. As the night went on, the lights considerably dimmed, and more of the little details of the room began to make itself visible to Kyungsoo. From the glow-in-the-dark stickers that lined the book-shelf of a million books, to the stacks of toys in boxes labelled in the same scrawly handwriting found in the report. There were framed pictures of father and son right by the small window in the room. Lilo as a newborn. Chanyeol and Lilo in a theme park. Father and son relaxing on a beach. 

Oh, and the walls were alive.

Kyungsoo discovered this after Lilo abandoned their lego palace on the floor and began to thump his tiny fists against the wall. After three smacks, the wall shifted colour and then a _huge_ dinosaur shadow appeared. The baby screamed in delight and ran away, almost tumbling over in process as he darted around the room laughing.

_You’re shocked._ Toben said, having clearly picked up on the fact that Kyungsoo’s jaw had dropped. _Don’t worry. He won’t cry if the dinosaur doesn’t find him._

“So he’ll cry if not?”

Toben spun towards him, choosing not to respond as if to say - _Ya think?_

So that became the new game, Lilo using him as a human shield as the projection dinosaur searched the room for him - roaring every so often and causing Kyungsoo to have a minor cardiac jolt. 

They ended up hiding in the yellow tent for a good fifteen minutes with Lilo peeking out and giggling every-so-often as the dinosaur roamed the walls without spotting them.

“Shhh,” Lilo told Kyungsoo, placing small hands over his eyes as the dinosaur’s stomps grew louder.

Kyungsoo did the same without even thinking. 

“This?” 

Lilo peered at the container of sweet potato and shook his head. “No!” he said loudly. 

“This?”

“No!” 

Kyungsoo had read in the fact file that Lilo was a picky-eater but he may have underestimated just how much. The baby declined everything that Chanyeol had told him to offer. Fortunately, there was a caveat inside the fact file of just offering sliced fruit and then milk if all else failed because he’d already eaten a big dinner. 

So Kyungsoo heeded the words and meticulously sliced the grapes into tinier pieces. Then the bananas. And then he arranged them in a smiley face.

Lilo took one look at the plate and stuck out his tongue.

“Yucky.” He said, hands thumping against the counter restlessly. 

“No it’s yummy. See?” Kyungsoo ate a piece. 

The baby was unmoved and placed his chubby hands over his lips.

“God, what should I do Toben?” Kyungsoo asked the roomba as it moved back and forth the kitchen floor. He had recently recharged and was therefore full of energy, thus the occasional weird sound (that was supposed to be _singing_ ). 

_Master Lilo only likes salty foods. Like crackers._

At the word, Lilo began to point to the cupboard above Kyungsoo. Curious, Kyungsoo opened it and gasped at the huge bag of rice crackers that fell out and landed on a heap on his head. As he grappled with it, he heard Toben’s distant _ha ha ha_ as well as Lilo’s cries of joy.

The label read - _RICE CRACKERS, FOR SOFT TEETH._ At first, he’d guessed that the food was for babies but it clearly wasn’t geared for babies - more for old men if the advertising was to be believed.

Or old men scientists perhaps, as it dawned on Kyungsoo how much of the food in the kitchen was bland and typical in ingredients. The perfect mix for a busy working man who had to spend his time conveniently. Not necessarily for a baby who loved colour and life like little Lilo.

Storing those observations away, Kyungsoo gave up and offered the baby some crackers. Lilo nibbled them for a while as he sat across him and ate the fruit, not wanting it to go to waste. During that time, the apartment was quiet and pleasant - and he was able to ask Toben a little about Chanyeol. From their chat, he found out that _Dr. Park_ was thirty three years old - he was born and bred in the city - he was a chess master and he liked - 

_Seafood._

“Me too,” Kyungsoo said. “It’s my favourite.”

_Statistically, that is a very common view._ Toben told him.

“True.” 

_He also likes brunettes._

A grape got stuck in Kyungsoo’s throat and he patted his chest a couple of times to get it out. 

_... And bagels._

“Toben!”

_Let me guess, you like bagels too?_

Perhaps it was the snacks but there was nothing in Lilo’s behaviour that suggested that he was getting sleepy and time was fast getting on. After picking out all the lego bricks that had wedged themselves into his soles, Kyungsoo decided that the best way to make any baby sleepy was television. Toben had argued otherwise but Kyungsoo was sure that someone had said it in one of his research videos. Plus, he really didn’t fancy sitting there and listening to choral music for a hour. 

He sat on the couch with Lilo babbling next to him and Toben by his feet. He channel-hopped, looking for something dull like a war documentary or random lecture - something uninteresting and bland for Lilo to look at that will act as some kind of visual lullabye. It didn’t work for a while, with Lilo showing interest in every single thing that flashed on the screen. And then, once he grew bored, he began to fight Kyungsoo for the remote.

It was cute. Until he used his teeth. “Lilooooo,” Kyungsoo whined, “Don’t bite uncle.”

The little toddler grinned, showing off his pearly-whites. On the screen was the news. Kyungsoo was about to change it when he saw the story flash on the screen - 

_THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE IS PRESENTED TO THE EXO-TECH TEAM FOR THEIR WORK IN ADVANCING ROBOTICS IN MEDICINE_

“DADA!”

On the screen, still in his poorly-fitted navy suit, Chanyeol stepped out on the podium and received the small glass award with three others. A small snippet of the speech was shown alongside picture-taking with the hosts and other figures. One of the figures just happened to be the _President_. 

And then it ended and the news moved onto something else.

“Woah.” Kyungsoo said. 

He turned to Lilo, wanting to show off his excitement and express how cool that was but he was prevented from doing so by the absolute _devastation_ on Lilo’s face. The little boy was so deeply, unfathomably, upset that for a second or two, his cries made no sound and then a hopeless - 

“DAAAAAADAAAAAA!”

That scream could rattle souls. 

_Baby Shark._ Kyungsoo almost screamed at Toben to play the song but the robot, ever-calm, darted forwards and said - 

_Master Lilo, look._

_There’s Dada_.

All it took was one Toben _blip_ and then the screen went black. An in-system video player was opened. It scrolled down what must’ve been a hundred videos before it selected one and began to play. A video of Chanyeol appeared on the screen. He was younger. There wasn’t a single element of his surroundings that resembled this apartment therefore it must have been from somewhere else. Another time. He was talking - lecturing - to nobody, but he was holding what looked like computer parts. 

Knowing what he knew, Kyungsoo assumed he was building something. 

Lilo was immediately calm. Kyungsoo placed the baby on his lap and wiped his wet face with his thumbs, feeling his heart twist at the sight of just how much he’d cried. He felt guilty at his contribution of making Lilo upset and decided that next time, if there was, he would make sure to ask exactly where Chanyeol was going to ensure that it wouldn’t be televised.

“You miss your Dada, huh?” he whispered, “Well, he’s right there.” 

“Dada,” Lilo pouted, casting a wary glance at the screen. “Dada-there.”

“Yes, Dada’s there.”

The volume went up by itself, presumably by Toben’s operation, and the words that had been absent began to fill the room. Chanyeol had a deep soothing voice - one so familiar to his son that the baby even stopped hiccuping. Kyungsoo realised shortly after that this video was one of many that Chanyeol had filmed for his son, who at the time was still in the womb. He had been bored during the pregnancy and had chosen to invest his time in going through all the basic things he wanted to make sure his son was taught about - from ordinary craftsmanship to how to pilot a commercial airplane in case of an emergency… 

There was even a video on _How to Gain Peak Physical Fitness_.

During his curious scrolling, Kyungsoo hovered over that one for a while. 

_He’s shirtless in that one._ Toben observed prompting Kyungsoo to groan out loud in embarrassment - _Master Lilo will love it. He will laugh a lot._

At some point, halfway through - _How To Make Your Own Ketchup_ \- Lilo fell asleep and Kyungsoo very nearly did too. He placed the baby in his bed, under the makeshift stars that had appeared on the walls of his room. When he left, he didn’t step on lego bricks but instead on sparkly planets projected onto the carpet until he was back out of the corridor. Looking back into the room from the outside, it looked like Little Lilo was sleeping in his own quiet palace in the middle of the galaxy - and it was magical.

Chanyeol arrived just at the time he said he would. Instead of moving out to greet Kyungsoo who had been half-asleep on the living room couch, he went straight to his son’s bedroom to check on him before stepping into the kitchen and - 

Taking out the huge bag of crackers to eat.

He crunched through a few before Kyungsoo finally decided to make his presence known. 

“Hey… Chanyeol.”

“Kyungsoo!” The name was spluttered due to Chanyeol’s mouth being full of crackers. There was a little awkwardness as Kyungsoo reassured him that all was well as the other apologised profusely for not greeting him first. On the kitchen counter top was the award that he’d won. Kyungsoo congratulated him earnestly - and even managed to say that it was cool - as Chanyeol shook his head, laughing softly.

“I’ve won a few of them.” He said. “They’re cool… but I’ve won cooler.”

“Cooler?” Kyungsoo questioned. “But you met the president.”

“Cooler.” Chanyeol confirmed before leaning in and whispering, “I’ve dined with a few in the royal family too.”

Kyungsoo arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’ve _cooked_ for them too.” He didn’t exactly have the most positive experience of the world’s pickiest family and it showed as he shrugged it off. 

The inventor accepted his answer and held up his hands in defeat. The conversation smoothly moved onto how the night went and Kyungsoo described it all to Chanyeol’s keen ears as best as he could. Even though it had been challenging in places, there was no doubt that it all came off as an overall success. Lilo had spent more of his time smiling than crying and Kyungsoo had only gotten lost on the way to the bathroom once (thanks to Toben’s continued resilience in stalking his every move). He even had a nickname from the baby to boot - _Kyushu!_

“Kyushu,” Chanyeol echoed. His dimples deepened as he smiled, thoughtful. “That’s lovely. And - ah, even my Toben only had good things to say.” 

Kyungsoo looked down at the roomba who was now in hibernation mode in the corner of the room by his plug. “He told you? I didn’t hear him..” 

“He can send messages. Silently.”

“Of course he can.” Kyungsoo wouldn’t even try and imagine what those messages must be like - even though he was rather curious of the content. 

“You must think our life is weird.”

Chanyeol scrunched up the top of the bag of crackers and began to roll it. “It’s a lot to take in at first. One babysitter described it as a world of its own.”

“A little bit.” Kyungsoo agreed. “But it’s nothing bad.” 

“So… you like it?” asked Chanyeol, obviously excited by it. 

The question felt odd to answer but Kyungsoo nodded anyway.

“I like it. It feels happy here. I don’t think you have to worry about anything.”

“Well I won’t! Certainly not that you now live across us and we have a friend to speak to whenever we are in need.”

Somehow, Kyungsoo felt like there was a greater likelihood that he would be the one coming to the Parks in need but he felt touched that Chanyeol would say such things considering - they had only just met. And he meant them too. There was not a single element of Chanyeol that felt disingenuous or false. It wasn’t just the house that was warm and happy; it was him. His sweet nature permeated through this entire place like a lovely spirit. 

“Sure, come and knock on my door any time.” Kyungsoo said.

“Any time?”

Chanyeol placed his cheek on his palm as he leaned across the counter-top. 

“Even lunch-time?” He smiled, showing off a row of perfect teeth. “I may have watched a few videos of Chef Do on my way to the ceremony. You’re very good.”

Kyungsoo’s face fell. “Oh god, really.”

“Yeah.” Chanyeol said, “I watched about ten in a row.”

“Oh no.” Kyungsoo slapped his palm against his forehead. He’d forgotten he’d shared that detail about him. He wondered how far back Chanyeol had gone -- if he’d seen the tragic haircut of three years ago… 

“My favourite was the seafood linguine. If you ever make it again, will you invite Lilo and I? I’d love to taste it. It looked delicious.” 

_Seafood_. This calmed Kyungsoo a little - because admittedly, the linguine was one of his most favourite things to cook. 

“Sure.” Kyungsoo said. “I’ll cook for you both any time.”

Something unwound in Chanyeol - something that prompted him to take a breath so deep that Kyungsoo heard it, and saw it, in the loosening of his shoulders and form as he stared and breathed. He said thank you - and it was such a lovely thank you that if it hadn’t been next to midnight and any of the corner stores were open, Kyungsoo was tempted to entertain the impulse of cooking there and then. He didn’t need that many ingredients and it wouldn’t take that long to make linguine. 

The thought was unquestionably irrational. But it was easier to say nonsense things in a place like this apartment where the constraints of the universe felt - _further_ and Kyungsoo couldn’t remember being in a place so calming and lively at the same time. It was a little hard to leave it - which meant, inevitably, that he had to.

“I should go.” Kyungsoo said.

“Ah, of course.” Chanyeol looked down at his wrist. “Wow, look at the time.”

“But before I do. Can I ask you something?”

Chanyeol smiled keenly. “Anything.” 

“What is Lilo short for?” 

“Lilo? Galileo of course.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. Leopold. Leonardo. Leones. He had narrowed it down to his best three and he got it wrong again. 

“Galileo?” Kyungsoo asked, “You named him Galileo?”

The surprise was lost on Chanyeol who nodded at both questions.

“After the father of modern science? Of course. Why would I name my son anything else?” Chanyeol looked towards the hallway that led to his son’s room. 

“Before my son was born, I thought I would love nothing above astronomy. And then I saw him and thought - maybe my love for both could be equal. And then I _saw him more_ , and realised that my love for him had outdone everything that I had left for the stars, the planets. Even the _Moon_! And I love the Moon! Had Lilo been a girl, her name would’ve been--”

“Luna?” Kyungsoo guessed.

“Selene.” Chanyeol answered. And then, he narrowed his eyes. “But I like that too… I’ll consider it. For my next baby.”

The thought made Kyungsoo laugh. “Why not. And for the record, I think it’s a good name.” 

“Thanks. I think so too. I loved it. I wish I was called Galileo too in fact. Then it’s another thing we could share. He really is my best - _best_ \- companion.” 

The affection warmed Kyungsoo’s heart. To the point that much time must have passed again before he attempted to leave the Park Family apartment - only to be stopped at the door. 

“Wait, Kyungsoo. Your wage.”

“Oh!” Kyungsoo turned and offered his palm - expecting an envelope.

The inventor stood in front of him and took the hand. It was large and slightly cold. And then he shook Kyungsoo’s hand and smiled bemusedly.

“I would actually like your phone. I’ll send your money remotely for ease.”

“Oh!” Kyungsoo quickly retrieved his hand, mortified, and offered his phone in return. 

The transaction was completed with a single touch. Technology.

Once again they were at the doorway and there was a sense of finality now. Kyungsoo was returning to the real world - away from robots and dinosaurs. And inventors with nice voices. 

“So - ah, have a good night! And many thanks again, Kyungsoo. There’s a part of me which wishes I’d have stayed here instead, knowing you guys had such a good time.”

Kyungsoo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we had fun. Maybe next time you should come!” Then he paused and shook his head, back-tracking, “or _stay_ because it’s your place. And I’ll come. In. Here. To babysit. Or just. Whatever.” 

“Please.” Chanyeol said. “Please do. It would be an absolute pleasure to have you over.”

“OK then. Till next time, I guess?” 

“Until next time.” 

Kyungsoo crossed the short space between their apartment doors and noted that the door behind him didn’t close until his own did. 

Two days later. Kyungsoo was in his kitchen plating up linguine. Chanyeol was holding Lilo on his lap on a stool by the kitchen counter as the baby mouthed eagerly at a fresh tomato. He had talked them through the process - to satisfy Chanyeol’s request of being part of an off-the-record cooking video - and was now very eager to share the results. It was going to be a good dish, if he had to say so himself.

After a single bite, the inventor was floored. "This is delicious." Chanyeol said, cheeks full of pasta as he cut up some of the noodles for Lilo to eat. "This is the best plate of seafood linguine I've ever had in my life. Lilo has never had seafood linguine so I can guarantee that it is the best one he's ever had. Compliments to Chef Do. Hooray!!" 

Chanyeol clapped Lilo's hands together.

“Hoo-ay! Chef Du-du!” 

And just like that, Kyungsoo was smitten with them.

“Here, eat with us.” Without a single warning, Chanyeol pulled Kyungsoo’s plate so it was right beside his. 

He even made sure to steal an extra shrimp from the cooking pan to put on Kyungsoo’s pasta, with a comment on the high noodle to accompaniments ratio. 

And just like that, with barely anything at all, it dawned on Kyungsoo that he was rather smitten with him.

*


	3. the impossible problem

*

When Kyungsoo had crushes on people, it tended to either be on a) Celebrities who he would never encounter in real life b) Anyone who happened to be nicer to him at a level that was notably higher than any normal person would be. To expand on Example B, a normal person would say that he cooked well and he worked hard - and he wouldn’t develop any abnormal feelings towards them in appreciation that this was an appropriate and level headed opinion towards his food. On the other hand, someone calling him the best chef in the whole world and an absolute pleasure to see every day would most definitely ring some danger bells.

Currently, Park Chanyeol the Inventor was the bell-ringer of these danger bells.

Every time they encountered each other, he always found a way to make Kyungsoo’s heart race. Whether it would be the offering of a dear compliment - about him or his cooking - or an unexpected gesture like inviting him over for board games (that happened to be gigantic), the inventor was fast entrenching himself into Kyungsoo’s stream of thoughts as a bringer of smiles and feelings. 

Cue ambulance noises.

“It’s not that serious,” Kyungsoo told himself as he finished one of his videos - his take on a Japanese curry dish. He had spent the whole session cooking with only his situation with Chanyeol in mind after the inventor had turned up at his door that morning with a fruit bowl. He mentioned it to one of his friends, Minseok, on the phone who had commented very slyly - 

_He’s just finding excuses to see you, bro._

_Now you have the bowl, he’s going to have a reason to be at your door to get it back._

_A classic!!!!_

Determined not to make a mountain of a molehill, he repeated that same mantra to kill Minseok’s vibe. It wasn’t that serious. This whole thing was just a little game that Kyungsoo’s head was playing in order to entertain himself as he spent the vast majority of his life indoors within the same four walls. None of it was real and none of it would ever come to anything and that was absolutely _fine_. 

Always the pragmatist, Kyungsoo made peace with this thought and found the entirety of his busy head settling down. Until Chanyeol came to his door later that evening inquiring about the bowl - but also whether he was sensing a change in weather lately. A theory that he was currently testing in the makeshift weather station he’d built with Lilo in the afternoon. Lilo, who was dressed in a bright yellow raincoat to fit the theme. 

“If you’re free or curious. Feel free to drop by,” said Chanyeol. “I can always use another hand to man the hygrometer…”

How exactly was Kyungsoo supposed to say no to that?

So he went, and became even more smitten, when Chanyeol taught him how to make a sturdy mini-windsock out of household materials. 

Cue ambulance noises.

*

But it wasn’t all easy peasy in the Park Household.

A discovery that Kyungsoo made on the week that he saw Chanyeol and Lilo on three separate occasions: one, after a lengthy park run in which a sweaty Chanyeol affirmed that he’d pushed Lilo around in his stroller a record distance - two, another sweaty Chanyeol bringing boxes of fruit into Apartment 61A as he explained how he was using fibre as brain food - and last but not least, three, when Kyungsoo encountered a sweaty Chanyeol sat outside his door with his head resting on his knees. Lilo was present in all three scenarios: not sweaty, dressed in a very bright outfit and often playing with either his Dad’s hair or a soft plush.

“Chanyeol?”

Kyungsoo had just returned from the city centre where he had bought this week’s cooking ingredients. When the inventor didn’t stir, he put the bags down and crouched to his level. In the distance was the sound of loud children’s music - no doubt mixed by DJ Toben - and Lilo’s shrieks as he played one of his little games.

“Kyungsoo. Oh.” The inventor lifted his face. He looked -- exhausted. Kyungsoo frowned in concern.

“Are you OK?”

“Yes, yes.” His voice was notably weak. “OK, no no.” The tall man shook his head and buried it into his knees once again.

Concerned, Kyungsoo quickly asked him what was wrong. What followed was an uninterrupted description of a problem that Chanyeol was having. The brainy inventor had been brought in to a side project at EXO Tech - one that had stumped all other brainiacs that had tried to tackle it. Confident, Chanyeol was sure he would make progress but found, alas, that he was just as stuck as the others. 

“...well, not exactly. I feel like I know how to get to the answer. At least, I think I do. I felt like I’ve had glimpses of it. That’s why I’ve been exercising a lot to clear my head. But lately, it’s just felt further and further away and I am beginning to think that I don’t have anything at all and it’s all a big failure!”

The door behind Chanyeol opened. Little Lilo wandered out holding a toy spaceship which he began to run up and down his father’s head. 

Toben rolled in seconds after.

_Oh ha ha, Master Lilo. That is funny._

He rotated around to face Kyungsoo. 

_Master Kyungsoo! Are you back from your weekly trip to the grocer’s and Dex’s Tex-Mex Fun-staurant!_

Red flooded Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he squirmed. He had forgotten that Toben knew an inordinate amount about him. Chanyeol looked up at the words.

“You like Dex’s Tex-Mex?”

“Uh. My friend works there.” Kyungsoo said, totally skipping on the fact that even with his gourmet cooking background - he was partial to a plate of Dex’s nachos.

“Oh. Does he like it?”

“The food or the restaurant.”

“Both.” Chanyeol said, a smile appearing on his face as he wrapped an arm around Lilo. “We always pass it on our way to work and I’ve always wanted to go with Lilo. They have very loud music. It sounds like something he would enjoy!”

The meeting turned into a peer review of the restaurant for a bit. Kyungsoo relayed all that Minseok had told him and the insight he had from his own experience whilst still downplaying the frequency in which he ate there. At some point, Lilo went back into the house and Chanyeol’s expression dimmed once again into one of sadness and deep thought.

“I do get into these funks sometimes,” Chanyeol sighed. “But never for this long. I think this is the sign I should just quit EXO-Tech and do something else.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. “What? Quit?”

“Yes.” Chanyeol answered. “At my level, EXO-Tech only recruits the very best. If I’m not performing to that standard, then the only reasonable option is for me to leave my post.”

“Well… why don’t you just try and solve the problem?”

“I have tried and I’ve _failed_. Remember? That whole story I told you?”

Kyungsoo could sense him withdrawing even further - perhaps into a panic. Still with his shopping bags set around him, he sat down on the floor and processed it all before informing Chanyeol of his conclusions.

“So what you’re saying is that there’s an… _Impossible Problem_ that the very best of EXO-Tech haven’t been able to solve since god knows when. You joined the cause a few days ago and haven’t been able to get anywhere. And just because of that, you’re willing to quit completely?” 

Chanyeol nodded his head. “Exactly right.” 

“Have you lost your mind?” 

The inventor gasped. “Excuse me?”

Kyungsoo picked up his shopping bags from the floor before getting up. “If this has beaten the very best, it’s for a good reason. And because it’s beaten them, they’ve now asked you - which implies that you’re even better than the best. So it’s time to prove it. I reckon that your head will never be clear with a robot and _Baby Shark_ constantly playing in the background of your world as you work so why… don’t I take Lilo and Toben for the next few days while you get your head together.”

The offer basically came out of Kyungsoo’s lips before he’d even properly thought about it. Did he even have enough food to cover three, a dog and a robot? He hoped so because judging from Chanyeol’s initial reaction, there was absolutely no way he could take his offer back.

“Kyungsoo that… would be extremely kind of you to do.”

“Yeah well.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “That’s me, I guess.”

“Yes! That is you! That would be - _amazing_!”

“Then it’s done.”

“Wow!”

Chanyeol’s gratefulness was clear in the way he reached out and held Kyungsoo square by the shoulders. And then, just as quickly let him go. Kyungsoo barely felt the impact of his strong athletic arms grounding him but it was probably for the better so that the ambulance noises in his head didn’t have to cry so loud.

“Lilo! Toben! I have news!” he called out into his apartment, “What do you say to spending a few days with Uncle Kyungsoo from next door?”

Kyungsoo looked back and watched Lilo clap excitedly - although he was sure that the baby understood nothing. The little roomba on the floor did a few little side-zips, before stating a loud - 

_I take it from your tone, Master Chanyeol that I have to go too._

_Hooray._

*

Day 1 of Day-Sitting Park Lilo went like this: a determined Kyungsoo planning the day with fun things to do - full of hope and excitement - only to be faced with an _extremely_ unhappy baby Lilo. A baby Lilo who cried every half hour at the realisation that he wasn’t with his father and spent most of the time wailing and knocking on Kyungsoo’s door wanting to go back home. Chanyeol, who was trying to complete his work, stated that he was absolutely fine with his son coming back since it clearly wasn’t working out. Two hours after that, Kyungsoo checked on them and Chanyeol was face-flat on the couch groaning with approximately a million lego bricks on his back as Toben asked Kyungsoo to confirm that his beloved Master Chanyeol hadn’t suffocated and died.

Day 2 of Day-Sitting Park Lilo. Kyungsoo was even more determined to perform better but he was now faced with the existing challenge that he would have divide his time between Lilo and him filming his most recent cooking video. To mix both worlds, Kyungsoo decided to feature a refreshed chocolate cookie recipe for his video. Lilo, dazzled by all the new tools, helped him with the cookie-cutting process and totally loved it. To deal with the baby’s separation anxiety, Chanyeol kept himself free on the phone via Toben so whenever Lilo needed an affirmation that his Dad wasn’t too far away. They managed to be trouble-free all the way until afternoon nap-time. It was a good time to accept defeat. There was no way that Lilo wasn’t going to throw a fit when he opened his eyes and it wasn’t his beloved Dada first to pick him up. 

Day 3 of Day-Sitting Park Lilo. Chanyeol gave Lilo permission to accompany Kyungsoo and Meokmul on a refreshing walk around the neighbourhood. For the first time, no tears were shed. Lilo’s mood was brighter than sunshine throughout. Kyungsoo noted that he enjoyed jumping, running away, running after insects, running after Meokmul, general running -- laughing at Kyungsoo for no reason - and he particularly enjoyed playing with other children. 

Also, _Dudu_ had become Kyungsoo’s official nickname. 

Toben also informed them that he’d requested Chanyeol to provide him with outdoor gear so he may walk with them outside. Later that day, Chanyeol approved said request.

Day 4. 

“We’ve been together four whole days.” Kyungsoo told Lilo who had become notably attached to him. Whenever he was in the kitchen, the baby wasn’t always trying to crawl out of the cat flap anymore. Sometimes, but not always. 

The toddler babbled in response and strangely, Kyungsoo was able to translate it as something to do with food. “Should we eat?” He watched Lilo’s pretty eyes light up, “Should Uncle Dudu make something delicious?”

 _Yes, please do_.

Kyungsoo clutched his chest out of surprise. He looked down at Toben and laughed.

“Some for you as well, Toben?” 

_Oh. Please don’t waste your time, Master Kyungsoo. I do not eat._

“OK, well. Why don’t you sit with Meokmul? She’s not hungry either.”

 _For once_ his mind added as he looked at his puppy resting comfortably in her bed in the corner of the room.

The robot didn’t answer for a good ten seconds. Kyungsoo had been trying to figure out what Toben thought of Meokmul and had privately set up situations like this to see for himself. His current theory was that Toben _disliked_ dogs in general - having moved on from the theory that he was scared - but he was beginning to think that the robot might actually be jealous. Particularly due to the vast amount of love that Lilo showered on his _Foofy_. The same deadpan Foofy who he ran to every morning and cuddled like a plush toy.

_OK. I will do that._

Toben moved slowly towards Meokmul, measured and a little breathy. He stopped a good yardstick’s length away and turned towards Kyungsoo. 

_There. I feel that your dog and I are becoming closer each day._

“I do too,” Kyungsoo said, hiding a laugh. Lilo was still at his hip already pointing towards the refrigerator which he knew was a treasure trove. The toddler wasn’t all that fussed about the taste of the food necessarily but he loved the great variety of new _things_ within it. He showed particular interest in odd shaped foods like squashes and ginger. He liked to hold and sniff them and then help Kyungsoo prepare them into dishes. 

Distracting Lilo with an artichoke, which he wrongly identified as a flower, Kyungsoo went on his way to prepare their meal: a quick vegetable stew. Quick because it was one of those - throw what you have in the fridge stews. His favourite kind of meal really.

Once it was prepared he followed a happy Lilo and Toben back into the apartment so they could eat with Chanyeol.

Although hesitant, he followed the baby and the robot into the inventor's office. Kyungsoo hated the idea of intruding so had done his best not to disturb during Chanyeol's known work hours. Naturally, the inventor's son did not possess such reservations. He pushed open the door, said a very loud "DADA!!!!" and ran straight into his father's open arms.

"Liloooooo! I was just thinking of you!!"

With surprising speed, Toben was already by his feet.

_Good afternoon Master Chanyeol. How goes things?_

"Things are going well, thank you Toben." Chanyeol said with a smile as he picked his son up and looked at Kyungsoo. His expression shifted into something - else. Something warm but different, probably matching Kyungsoo's own shy expression.

"Has he been good? How are you?”

"He's been really good. I’m good. How's … um?"

This was the moment where Kyungsoo's attention moved to study the actual office space. It surprised him as for starters, it actually looked like one. There was a desk, a bookshelf, a vending machine that dispensed all kinds of cola, a telescope, a tool box, a sculpture of legos - and a whiteboard for a wall that had all manners of scribbling on it in overlapping green and black pen. All in all, extraordinarily ordinary when compared to the other rooms in the apartment.

"Um this." Kyungsoo motioned his hand over the board.

Chanyeol's smile remained wide for a few seconds.And then inch by inch, it grew smaller and smaller and smaller as if with each second, he was able to process a rapidly saddening thought-

_Shit._

The inventor's eyes welled with tears. "Awful," he managed. "I'm still stuck."

The tears fell with a single blink. He must have held them in for a long time. There was much that Kyungsoo felt like he could have done to comfort him but it was all pushed away at the realisation that Chanyeol’s outburst was within his baby’s sight. Two seconds later, Lilo began to cry. His little face twisted as he cried aloud. 

Call Kyungsoo unhelpful, but it was so clear now just how alike they looked. It was astonishing. 

"Noooo, baby.” Chanyeol cooed, forcing a smile even though tears were still falling, “See, Dad is j-joking."

Unconvinced by his father’s efforts, Lilo cried louder. Almost subconscious, Kyungsoo locked eyes with Lilo and was surprised to see the baby reach out for him. He took him, allowing Chanyeol the opportunity to wipe his eyes and recuperate. He appeared to draw a deep, calming breath, which stopped the tears and enabled him to make friends with the little boy again - who forgave and reached out for his father after he stopped crying. 

They were reunited. Kyungsoo’s heart felt heavy at the sight. 

"You should eat something." He suggested.

Chanyeol nodded and looked to the vending machine. 

"No,” interrupted Kyungsoo. “Chanyeol, you’re eating a real meal. We made some remember?"

The inventor’s eyes lit up in obvious joy. “Yes, of course! Let’s eat!” He smiled at his baby - all sadness melting away as the toddler smiled back, “Shall we go and eat with our favourite chef, Lilo? Yes?” 

“Yes!” Lilo cheered. 

They finished their meal before Kyungsoo approached the subject again. Ever liberal with his emotions and words, Chanyeol described his efforts from the past few days - how rocky the entire process had been and whilst the silence had helped his brain think, it still hadn’t found the erroneous factor that was stumping the progress of their software.

Out of the blue, Kyungsoo found himself sharing an experience that he had that sounded - comparable in the sense that he too had struggled to think of an answer and at the time it had felt like the absolute end of the world. It was during his college years - when he had faced the fate-defining choice of whether he was going to pursue his dreams of cooking or… 

\- marry his high school sweetheart.

The comparison came in his struggle in identifying what was stopping him from making a decision when decision-making was actually one of his strong points.

“So, to cut the story short. I thought about it day in and out, got nowhere, and decided that I would do something else for a while. One laundry day later… and I was signing up to cooking school clear as day.”

“Sorry, I don’t quite follow.”

“I think you should do something different for a bit. Put your brain in a different place. Maybe that will help all the pieces fall quicker.”

“But… so you didn’t marry?”

Kyungsoo’s hold on his chopsticks tightened. 

“Oh,” Chanyeol visibly straightened. “I’m sorry Kyungsoo. I didn’t mean to ask-”

“I didn’t marry.” Kyungsoo affirmed. He looked towards Lilo who was on the carpet playing with Meokmul and Toben. “... and you should do something with Lilo. Maybe, watch a movie? Or a puzzle - or -”

“Both sound amazing but I actually have a better idea.”

Chanyeol looked up at Kyungsoo’s ceiling knowingly.

“You need new lights.” He said, “And you’ve got a leaky tap.” 

The inventor beamed wide as he took a quick swig of his juice and pointed to the door - 

“I’ll get my tool set!”

“Chanyeol - you don’t - “

"Thank you Kyungsoo! I can feel all my energy coming back!"

He was out of the door before Kyungsoo could stop him. When he returned, he did so with a toolbox and a renewed determination that Kyungsoo hadn't seen in a few days. This was the reason why he overcame his privat embarrassment at being helped this way. It was obvious that being helpful was helping Chanyeol so Kyungsoo helpfully pointed out all the bits of the apartment that may have waned with age.

Chanyeol addressed every single thing with a tweak of a screwdriver of a handy replacement of something he had in his own apartment. He even found and indicated towards things that didn’t need fixing - just things he found tacky.

Kyungsoo let him, like a friend would let his overly hyped friend run around and completely exhaust his energy. All the while, never truly _fully_ registering the fact that a handyman was exactly the type of man that he needed in his life. Someone with a _toolbox_. Someone who could fix things. Someone who knew what to do with their _hands_...

He was getting carried away. 

“I think Lilo needs a nap.”

And the baby had fallen asleep on the carpet with his butt raised in the air.

“Oh!” Chanyeol’s hands fell from where his fingers had been formed in a square, capturing Kyungsoo’s empty kitchen wall like some fancy designer. “I should take him.”

The inventor walked and picked the baby up slowly, laughing a little at the way the baby boy whined before settling in his arms.

He looked towards Kyungsoo and mouthed - 

_I’ll put him down in his room._

_I’ll be back though._

_For that wall._

_It’s so ugly._

_We’ll fix it._

Tiptoeing out as elegantly as any six foot man could, Chanyeol left Kyungsoo’s apartment with Toben attentively at his tail.

Oddly, the inventor didn’t return as quickly as he’d suggested. Kyungsoo wasn’t exactly worried - but he still found himself bending to the urge to check on them and see what was going on. After entering the Park Family apartment, he found himself looking into Lilo’s room and the sight that greeted him was this:

A dark room, under a projection of stars, with a little baby nestled in a bed and his six-foot father splayed beside him on the fluffy carpet - snoring peacefully. 

He could have missed it if he didn’t complete the picture but Toben was in the corner with an amber light on - his charging light.

As quietly as he came in, Kyungsoo left the apartment, convinced that he had done his part to help his neighbours.

It was around dinner time when Kyungsoo would find himself startled by loud knocking on his door. Fully expecting who was on the other side, he briefly checked he was decent before opening the door.

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol’s face was _excited_ , borderline hysterical - “I have the best news!”

“What! What happened!”

“Come here!” 

The inventor ran back into his apartment. With a soft laugh, Kyungsoo followed him in his slippers.

He was led right back into the study - the one with the funky vending machine - where baby Lilo was on the floor playing with big lego bricks. He looked up and smiled brightly at Kyungsoo before going back to his work, supported by Toben who was pushing bricks around using his disc shape.

“Here! Do you see!” 

Chanyeol was up on a chair pointing at a scribble on the board. Curious, Kyungsoo moved towards the space and squinted his eyes at the words. No, they were numbers. An equation. Already just at the thought of it, his brain had entirely zoned out.

“Kind of,” Kyungsoo answered. “You’re pointing at the three yeah?”

“The _three_?” Chanyeol gasped before looking at where he was pointing and murmuring, “Yeah I guess so… well that three? That… three? That’s the error I’ve been looking for. That’s why we’ve been getting wrong answers. That’s -- it!” 

Never had he seen Chanyeol so delighted. His fists were balled, not from frustration but from delight. Even beyond his joy, he looked relieved. His strife was all over. Now it could all go back to normal. Kyungsoo was pleased for him too even though he didn’t understand any of it and probably never would.

“It came to me about two seconds before I woke up from that nap. A nap I would’ve never taken if you never told me so, Kyungsoo. So really, this is all because of _you_.”

Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped. “What? Me? No way!”

“Yes! All of this! All the help and good advice! I would’ve never been able to find it! Which means the EXO-Tech project would’ve failed - and hundreds of millions of dollars down the drain--”

“Wait, what?”

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol’s hands were back on his shoulders. Kyungsoo stilled and gulped at the sudden proximity, eyes staring tensely at the inventor as he visibly _burned_ at his touch - “You’re--”

And then, as if realising what he was doing, the inventor’s hands fell to his side. He swallowed thickly - and for the first time ever, Kyungsoo observed a look of embarrassment cross his features. A little different to his usual everyday expressions but cute all the same. 

“You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo told him, sparing any more awkwardness as he forced a smile. “I’m really glad you were able to come to your conclusion - and trust me, any other person would’ve given you the same advice.”

“Yes, maybe. But you’ve helped me so much. I don’t think you understand how thankful I am.”

“I do.” His face was too open; too easy to read. Kyungsoo felt the emotions radiate across the space between them. “It’s what neighbours do, right?”

Chanyeol’s expression softened.

“Right.”

They called it a night there and the chapter of the impossible problem was closed. Last that Kyungsoo heard about it was that Chanyeol received a hefty bonus on the back of this project - and he used that money to take his son on a short vacation to visit his Mom up north. Before they left in their matching branded coats, Chanyeol ensured to say goodbye to Kyungsoo and Meokmul before their long drive.

“Have a safe trip, Lilo!” Kyungsoo said as he waved at the baby who waved back.

He then turned to Chanyeol who was cooing and petting Meokmul - who was very partial to a good petting and was clearly enjoying the attention.

“Have a safe drive, Chanyeol. I hope you get lots of time to relax.”

“Around my mother? Never. But she misses Lilo and I never turn down an invitation from her.” He had two suitcases by his side - matching of course. “So, we will see you in a week’s time then. I can’t wait to see the new video upload. When should I expect it? Later today?”

Kyungsoo laughed. “Yes, later today.”

“Good good. I look forward to it.”

Their goodbyes fleeted there. Chanyeol and Lilo disappeared to take the short elevator ride and Kyungsoo found himself alone in their hallway for the first time in what felt like a long time. He inhaled deep, revelling in that unfamiliar and new silence before walking right back to his apartment door.

He was moments from coming back inside when he suddenly heard it -

_Good night, Master Kyungsoo._

“Toben?” Kyungsoo cried, turning towards the door of the Park apartment. “Is that you?”

_Yes, it is._

_Hello._

“Hello,” Kyungsoo had been under the opinion that he had gone with the two so this was surprising. He brought up that exact point and listened close to the door for the answer.

_Oh no. I must guard the apartment._

“Ah, that makes sense.”

_And you._

His eyes opened wide as the two words dawned on him.

“Me?” He questioned.

_Yes. Did Master Chanyeol not tell you?_

_He informed me before his departure that I should ensure your safety._

Kyungsoo swallowed, a sense of something rising to the top of his head as he blinked and murmured - a tad more shakily,

“M-Me? He said that about _me?_ ”

 _Yes_. Toben said, still in his perfectly still voice - _I can repeat his exact words if you like._

_He said, Toben. Please ensure that you do your best to keep the apartment safe._

_And to keep Kyungsoo safe._

_Until I get back._

A look of shock crossed Kyungsoo's face. "I wonder why he'd say that," he murmured.

Ever helpful, Toben responded with a pointed -

_Perhaps he thinks you are a hazard._

*


End file.
